instead of going to 1,030, it would go to seven, over the years it accumulates, and if you're low on the income scale as you get older and older this becomes a problem. so where i come out on it is, this is worth considering, but only, only under three conditions, number one, it must be done by provisions that protect the very old and the poor. the president has said he is going to try and get the appreciati protections if it is in the final plan. it is unclear how republicans will react to

>> good evening, americans, and welcome to "the ed show" from new york. wants new gun laws, right now. this is the ed show. let's get to work. >> we're going to change things. it's going to take a wave of americans, mothers and fathers, daughters and sons, pastors, law enforcement, mental health professionals, and yes, gun owners standing up and saying enough. >> the president lays out the way forward for sensible gun policy. so why are no republicans getting on board?

i'll ask congressman jerrold nadler. >> at some point they have to take me out of it and think about what is best for the country. >> the president served up painful cuts, and republicans are literally running away from the table. >> hey, mr. speaker. >> congressman steve israel reacts to the gop's bizarre behavior. plus, today's big gm news means the death of a righty talking point. >> government motors. >> government motors. >> government motors, david cay johnston on a huge success story for government intervention. and the invisible man sitting next to clint eastwood wins time's person of the year. >> what do you mean shut up? >> tonight presidential historian douglas brinkley on barack obama, abraham lincoln, and spider-man. good to have you with us tonight, folks. thanks for watching. the president gave all americans a lot to work with today and a lot to think about in the coming weeks. president obama recognizes the mood of the country.

there is a real sense of urgency to pass common sense safety laws in the wake of the newtown shooting massacre. the president knows this is going to be a heavy lift. >> that's why i've asked the vice president to lead an effort that includes members of my cabinet and outside organizations to come up with a set of concrete proposals no later than january, proposals that i then intend to push without delay. this is not some washington commission. this is not something where folks are going to be studying the issue for six months and publishing a report that gets read and then pushed aside. >> one of the reasons the president is asking for action without delay is because he knows change can be accomplished, and it's been done before. the assault weapons ban signed by president clinton reduced crime lower than it had been in a generation. it's been 18 years since the crime bill was signed, and eight years since it was allowed to expire.

perhaps this is why president obama is turning to the bill's architect for guidance. >> i want to single out for special recognition the chairman of the senate judiciary committee who has fought tirelessly for this bill for six long years, senator joe biden. would you stand, senator joe biden. [ applause ] >> the choice of joe biden to lead the current task force on gun violence is no coincidence. the vice president fought against the odds to get democrats and republicans on board for the 1994 crime bill. biden is also a powerful symbol on this issue. his fight to curb gun violence helped him receive an "f" rating from the national rifle association, which i think really makes him qualified for job. the nra calls biden, in fact, the most anti-gun vice president in history. what an honor. by picking biden, the president is sending a very strong message. the task force will not roll

over to play indicate the nra. vice president biden will do the job. president obama knows it. he did not speak in generalities today. he laid out a very clear agenda. >> a majority of americans support banning the sale of military-style assault weapons. a majority of americans support banning the sale of high capacity ammunition clips. a majority of americans support laws requiring background checks before all gun purchases so that criminals can't take advantage of legal loopholes to buy a gun from somebody who won't take the responsibility of doing a background check at all. i urge the new congress to hold votes on these measures on a timely manner. >> the president wants congress to hold votes on a assault weapons ban, a ban on high-capacity magazines and background checks for all guns and owners in order to get rid of the current loopholes in the law.

all of these measures are supported by the public. a brand-new poll on gun control shows more than half the country favors major restrictions on firearms. 62% of americans want to ban assault weapons and high capacity clips. 95% want more complete background checks done by law enforcement. but the president knows it's not just about gun laws. >> we're going to need to work on making access to mental health care at least as easy as access to a gun. we're going to need to look more closely at a culture that all too often glorifies guns and violence. and any actions we must take must begin inside the home and inside our hearts. >> after the president laid out his plan of action, he took a tough question about his failure to act on gun issues prior to the newtown shooting. >> this is not the first issue, the first issue of horrific gun violence of your four years. where have you been?

>> well, here is where i have been, jake. i've been president of the united states dealing with the worst economic crisis since the great depression, an auto industry on the verge of collapse, two wars. i don't think i've been on vacation. and so i think all of us have to do some reflection on how we prioritize what we do here in washington. >> it's obvious the president has reflected on this. and so have other members of congress. pro-gun democrats like senator mark warner of virginia have come forward supporting sensible new gun laws. warner said recently i think most of us realize that there are ways to get to rational gun control. today house democrats introduced legislation to ban high-capacity clips, and will introduce a ban on assault rifles coming up in january. but the fact remains, not one republican in the congress has stepped forward to support gun control measures.

where have they been? no republicans have voiced specific support for an assault weapons ban or a ban on high-capacity clips. where have the republicans been? republicans are not even clear on the definition of what an assault weapon is, unless they listen to the nra and the gun manufacturers. congressman bob goodlatte of virginia is the new chairman of the house judiciary committee. he is the highest ranking republican with control over gun regulations. gun safety regulation you think it's on his mind? no way. sheer what he says. we're going the take a look at -- how many times do you hear people say we're going to take a look at it. this is what he says. take a look at what happened there and what can be done to help avoid it in the future. but gun control is not going to be something that i would support. so i ask where have the republicans been? meanwhile, you have state officials in states out there

like texas. their governor, rick perry, saying the solution is to do what? put guns in the hands of the teachers? just what they want to do. republican lawmakers in other states like oklahoma, nevada, south dakota and texas, calling for teachers to become enforcers in the classroom. it's hard to believe how meaningful legislation can be passed when a party still opposes laws to make us safer. time is of the essence. president obama ended his comments today by reading a list of americans who have been killed by guns since the tragedy at sandy hook last friday. >> each one of these americans was a victim of the everyday gun violence that takes the lives of more than 10,000 every year? violence that we cannot accept as routine. so i will use all the powers of this office to help advance efforts aimed at prevent

mortgage tragedies like this. we won't prevent them all, but that can't be an excuse not to try. it won't be easy, but that can't be an excuse not to try. >> voters need to make sure lawmakers are clear on one thing. there is no excuse for inaction. but the question is how many resources will the republicans be willing to commit to the mental health community to be part of the solution. how many republicans are going to come on board and support dianne feinstein's bill that will limit clips to ten rounds? how many times are we going to get caught between automatic and semiautomatic and get caught in nra rhetoric before we decide what we're going to do as a country. with the backdrop of funerals, we're having this conversation. and not one republican has stepped forward and said we got to do more than talk about it. we've got to change some laws. they won't do it. and of course friday, the national rifle association is

going to come forward, and they're going to end up giving us more tired old rhetoric. they're not going to come forward with anything substantive to changing this country that will curb gun violence. hell, they want to arm the teachers. it's outrageous. get your cell phones out. tonight's question, will republicans block common sense gun laws? text a for yes and b for no to 622639. we'll bring you results later on in the show. joining me tonight is congressman jerrold nadler of new york. congressman, good to have you with us. >> good to be here. >> we're going to find out how fast the wheels of government can turn here. under the umbrella that you haven't had any republicans step forward and say anything like what the president said today, what are your expectations something is really going to get done? >> well, i don't know. that remains to be seen. right now the republicans are saying nothing. they're ducking.

some of them are opposing any reasonable gun control restrictions. the president is going to push it very hard. the democratic leaders set up a task force today under congressman thompson of california. there is going to be a lot of constituent pressure on everybody, including republicans. and they're going to have to either step up to the plate or say no, and that's going to be very difficult for a lot of them. >> your colleague, congresswoman carolyn mccarthy urged support from republicans today. here it is. >> and i'm asking my republican friends to work with us. it shouldn't be a democrat or a republican issue. it's all of us as americans who are mourning the death in newtown. and we don't want to see anymore of these shootings again. >> so they always hide behind the second amendment. they're fabulous at doing that. but the second amendment does not give you the right to bear any kind of arm. and technology has changed. and, of course, the design has changed, the proficiency of the manufacturing has changed. why will no republican step

forward and admit that? >> well, because of the fear of the nra leadership, which is fanatic, which lies to gun owners and says that any attempt to regulate guns in any way is a prelude to taking all your guns away. luckily, the power of the nra was shown to be a paper tiger in the last election. i think that knowledge is going to have to be broadcast and assimilated that you can take on the nra and live to tell about it. you know, no right is absolute. we have the first amendment right to freedom of speech, but you can't get away with yelling fire in a crowded theater. so second amendment, the supreme court has ruled the second amendment confers a personal right to carry arms, but it doesn't confer a personal right to carry machine guns or grenade launchers or semiautomatic weapons, or large magazine clips. there is no hunter that needs more than three bullets in a rifle to hunt. anything beyond that is not only fair subject for regulation, but

absolutely ought to be banned. >> but there is very few hunters out there that want to be hold what kind of firearm they can use. this is the urban divide that the president talked about today. over the last 30 years before i came to work here in new york. it's two different worlds. you go to the middle of the country and they say don't you come close to me with any firearm regulation, and don't tell me how to use my firearm. i don't want any regulation whatsoever. here in new york, here in new york city, the laws are about as strict as they are anywhere in the country. so how do we strike this balance? >> you strike a balance by saying look, anyone has a right to firearms that are reasonably related to self-defense there is a license for that and hunting and sports. but no one has a right to have military-style firearms that are designed to kill large numbers of people as rapidly as possible.

common sense says that. and people in rural areas will recognize that too. everybody wants their kids to be safe. >> sure. >> and the fact is they're having more and more of these outrages. you know, as i've said before, we had a maniac attack an elementary school in china last friday, the same day as newtown, but no one was killed. >> that's a talking point that is out there quite a bit. the bottom line is the american people are ready for change. will the congress walk in lockstep with the american people in this? that's the big question. congressman jerrold nadler, great to have you with us tonight. thank you so much. remember to answer tonight's question at the bottom of the screen. share your thoughts on twitter at ed show and facebook. we want to know what your thoughts are. coming up, it just keeps getting tougher for the republican speaker of the house. john boehner is forcing his members to vote on his plan b tomorrow. it turns out his plan b ends up

raising taxes on the middle class if you get to the devil in the details. congressman israel reacts to the details. stay with us.

coming up, john boehner rejects another fiscal cliff plan from president obama, but can the sell -- can he sell his own caucus on plan b? and we've got karen finney and sam stein coming up talking about that. and later, "time" magazine names president obama as person of the year for a second time. i'll discuss the magazine's choice with presidential historian doug brinkley. and don't forget, you can listen to my radio show on sirius xm radio monday flew friday from noon to 3:00 p.m. share your thoughts with us on facebook and on twitter using the hash tag ed show. we're coming right back. ♪ i'd like to thank eating right, whole grain, multigrain cheerios! mom, are those my jeans? [ female announcer ] people who choose more whole grain tend to weigh less than those who don't.

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everybody wants a deal. are we going to get it? folks, i tell you, today we may be farther from a deal on the fiscal cliff than ever before. and the reason i think is pretty simple. president obama has put a deal on the table the republicans should be taking, but they refuse. today president obama expressed his outright dismay. >> the republicans in the house and i think speaker boehner were in a position to say we've gotten a fair deal. the fact that they haven't taken it yet is puzzling. >> president obama's deal would have offered republicans a change in the way social security is calculated, a big deal for the righties. when speaker boehner walks away from the president's offer to chained cpi, that is a pretty big signal that this guy really doesn't want to deal. speaker boehner is going forward with plan b? >> fails to meet the test that the president promised the american people a balanced approach.

and i hope the president will get serious soon. tomorrow the house will pass legislation to make permanent tax relief for nearly every american. 99.81% of the american people. and then the president will have a decision to make. he can call on the senate democrats to pass that bill, or he can be responsible for the largest tax increase in american history. >> i think it speaks volumes that the president took questions today, and boehner didn't, because boehner doesn't have his act together. he is not very convincing. and that's because plan b isn't going to impress the american people or the president of the united states, and the president knows it. boehner's plan would actually -- hear me out, folks -- raise taxes on middle class americans because it would not extend some of president obama's tax credits. >> the speaker now is proposing what he calls plan b.

so he says, well, this would raise taxes only on folks making a million dollars or more. what that means is an average of a $50,000 tax break for every millionaire out there. at the same time as we're not providing unemployment insurance for two million people who are still out there looking for work. >> democratic leader nancy pelosi says boehner shouldn't look for democratic votes to help him get to 218. and she characterized speaker boehner's position perfectly. >> i think what we saw here earlier was really an act of desperation. it didn't look like to me a person who had the votes. i believe the president keeps opening doors for the speaker to go through. with this action that the speaker announced, it just slammed the door in the president's face for that kind of compromise. >> leader pelosi is exactly right. boehner is getting desperate. congressman paul ryan says he'll support plan b, but other house republicans are in open revolt. the club for growth and other conservative groups are against it. boehner has gotten grover norquist's support, but these days i don't know how much that really means. let's turn to congress's steve

israel of new york with us tonight here on "the ed show." congressman, good to have you with us. let's talk about this norquist thing for just a moment. he is now giving cover the republicans in the house saying go ahead and vote for plan b. you're going to be okay. what does that signal to you? >> well, it signals to me that the speaker is desperate. it also signals to me that once again the republicans have taken their oath to grover norquist. the only seal of approval that is necessary in congress is the seal of approval that your constituents give you, that the middle class gives you. and once again, the republicans are letting grover norquist call the shots. secondly, ed, you know, at a certain point, these republicans have to learn how to take yes for an answer. tonight they're going through these gyrations, these contortions. they're taking every step they can with head fakes to produce a bill tomorrow except the one step that they could take to avoid going over this cliff, and that is meet the president in the middle on some common sense. that they refuse to do.

they would rather talk to grover norquist about how to get off the fiscal cliff, how to fall off this cliff than talk to the president about how to resolve this. >> all right. boehner's plan b. it of course would raise taxes on those who make a million dollars a year and more. but it would raise taxes on middle class americans because of the tax credits. >> that's right. >> are not being extended. is this going to get any democratic votes? >> well, it shouldn't get any democratic votes. it is not a plan, it is a stunt. and i don't believe that democrats should be supporting a stunt like this. democrats have shown an ability to compromise. democrats have shown an ability to try and meet republicans. and when we are met with a stunt like this that doesn't solve the problem but simply continues these cliff-hangers every several weeks, we ought to say no to the republicans. so this is a non-starter. and the b in plan b is just bizarre. this raises taxes for the middle class. >> yeah.

>> it is true that it raises taxes on people over a million dollars. but you lose the earned income tax credit. you lose the child care tax credit. you lose tuition tax credits. it's another shot at the middle class in order to protect the richest. >> so when you take a look at how this is starting to unfold, it doesn't look like a deal is anywhere near close. i mean, we're at a stalemate with the days down to what, 18? what does this say to the american people? here we are, we're having a discussion about gun laws. if we can't get our act together on our, you know, fiscal house in order in any way, shape, or form, how are you going to get anything done on gun laws? >> well, it's going to be hard to get anything done on gun laws. it's going about the hard to get anything done on anything when you have a tea party that continues to run the house of representatives. the american people -- we just had an election that was about solutions and compromise. and only weeks after this election, the republicans have reverted to their natural form, their fundamental dna, which is

obstruction and cliffs. this wouldn't happen if we had a democratic majority in the house of representatives. >> will plan b pass tomorrow, congressman? >> i don't know. i know that the speaker is frantically trying to whip this thing. he very rarely goes to the floor to try to convince republicans to vote with him. he was on the floor tonight, whipping. i think i hear that they're going to go through this kind of bizarre parliamentary procedure. they'll have other bills on the floor in order to cajole republicans to support it. they don't need to do this. just meet with the president. he has compromised. he's gone from $250,000 -- >> to 400. >> to 400. he has shown an ability to compromise. all you have to do, speaker boehner, is meet with the president and work this out. >> congressman steve israel, thanks for your time tonight. appreciate it. >> thanks. next, the political fallout for john boehner. we'll find out who has the upper hand here, boehner or president obama? which team would you pick? then, it's the beginning of the end. big news about the auto rescue tonight. find out why the republicans are still wrong about it.

well, if it isn't mr. margin.

mr. margin? don't be modest, bob. you found a better way to pack a bowling ball. that was ups. and who called ups? you did, bob. i just asked a question. it takes a long time to pack a bowling ball. the last guy pitched more ball packers. but you... you consulted ups. you found a better way. that's logistics. that's margin. find out what else ups knows. i'll do that. you're on a roll. that's funny. i wasn't being funny, bob. i know.

when you think about what we've gone through over the last couple of months, a devastating hurricane, and now one of the worst tragedies in our memory, the country deserves folks to be willing to compromise on behalf of the greater good. >> welcome back to "the ed show." president obama trying to get a deal. how is the president supposed to get anything done on gun control or any changes at all with firearms when the republicans won't even meet him halfway on fiscal cliff negotiations? what is the climate in washington? let's turn to sam stein, "huffington post," karen finney, msnbc analyst and former communications director of the dnc. karen, you first. how is anything going to get done on gun legislation or any kind of changes at all with

firearms when they can't even get together on the fiscal cliff? >> well, i think it's like the president said today. he needs help from the american people and from the outside. i think it's so important, the activism that we've seen, i mean just in the last few days over this sort of chained index on social security. i think it's for the american people to make it clear what is acceptable and what is not acceptable, and to raise the stakes for members of congress who fail to act. that is the only way we're going to get anything done. >> and if the republicans stand shoulder to shoulder, we'll be right back here talking about it for a long, long time. they haven't moved on anything else. on budget negotiations, sam stein, this is the second time the president has offered john boehner a grand bargain of sorts, and it's the second time he has rejected it. why is this happening? >> you know, it's a great question. i was going back to some of the clips from the summer of 2011 deal, looking at what exactly john boehner turned down. and i was struck by what he actually passed over. i mean it was a much more generous deal than what he is being offered now in many respects.

i think boehner is really torn here. i think boehner is worried about his speakership in some respects. he has a faction of the caucus that will never vote for a tax increase whatsoever, be he has to pass one if he wants to get anything done. so boehner is in a much more difficult situation than the president. the problem is he didn't realize it in some respects, and he is negotiating against himself, especially what this chained cpi, which they went out there and they promised people very deliberately they weren't going to cut social security benefits. they put it on the table expecting for boehner to come at them with another offer. instead he went with this plan b approach. >> what about that, karen? the president said that he wasn't going to get it off the backs of the middle class or the elderly. >> right. >> and then chained cpi is on the table. >> chained cpi shouldn't be on the table. let's be clear about that. i also think we need to sort of restate the fact that what the president has been proposing previously is to actually bring things into balance. because if you look at what has been going on, the wealthiest people in this country have already been doing very well. low income and middle class people have already been paying

more than their fair share. >> but i'm getting calls from the elderly saying that, gosh, you know, this is not what i voted for. and i'm starting to think that maybe the president put it on the table because the knew boehner wasn't going to take it anyway. >> that's right. that's what i think, actually. think about where we are today. the president puts that on the table. boehner can't even say yes, as sam pointed out. now he is trying to lose less. i mean that's basically his strategy. tomorrow is going to be more gimmicks and gamesmanship. i think as the president pointed out, people are sick and tired of that. polls already show that a majority of americans believe that it's going to be the republicans' fault if this deal falls apart. i actually think it's possible that the long game here for the president is you can take the chained cpi back off the table and some other things back off the table and say hey, look, i tried. i tried to come to the table with some seriousness. >> that may be the case. but i just want the make two points.

the first is this. if boehner were to step back and look at this soberly, he could very well argue, legitimately i think, that he is getting a great deal in this. 99% of the income brackets will not experience a tax hike in this deal, in this latest proposal. he will have changed the benefit structure for social security. he will have achieved about $1 trillion additional cuts on top of the trillion in cuts that they already got as far as the first deal to resolve the debt ceiling. those are very big substantial conservative victories. the problem that boehner has is they're not enough. i trust the obama administration to a certain extent that they're going to do things to protect beneficiaries with this chained cpi. but they need to produce more information to explain exactly why that is the case. >> i'm at the point right now i do not think the white house is going to sign on to a deal that we're not going to like. >> i agree. >> at this point, boehner has been so obstinate, here is conservative brent bozell attacking boehner's plan b. >> this is a terrible bill. this is a terrible box. republicans have painted themselves into in this corner. real fiscal conservatives would probably walk away from this mess. >>

tomorrow in the house? >> barely. >> it will pass? >> i think it could pass. look, i think that boehner has the same problem that he has had all along. he can't get anything done without democrats. and that is the dirty little secret. >> first of all, i love the sirens in the background of that press conference. >> well, it is an alarming, no question about it. does plan b pass tomorrow? >> you have to think they won't bring to it the floor unless they know that it passes. >> that's right. >> we're getting word tonight that they're trying to get some spending cuts attached to it to make it a sweeter deal for republicans. so yes. >> but it won't matter. >> ultimately it's theater, right? >> sam stein, karen finney, great to have you with us. >> thanks, ed. >> thanks, ed. >> thanks for being with us there. is a lot more coming up in the next half hour. stay with us. >> the american auto industry is back. >> the auto loan worked, and the treasury starts to close the books on general motors. tonight, david cay johnston deconstructs one of the greatest government interventions in history. can a night at the movies bring the senate together?

will republicans pay for the popcorn? we'll tell you about the senators' night at the cinema. and "time" magazine announces president obama as the person of the year. his story and douglas brinkley on what the honor really means, ahead. (announcer) when subaru owners look in the mirror, they see more than themselves. so we celebrate our year-end with the "share the love" event. get a great deal on a new subaru and 250 dollars goes to your choice of five charities. by the end of this, our fifth year, our total can reach almost 25 million dollars. it's a nice reflection on us all. now through january 2nd. get 0% apr financing for 36 months on a 2013 subaru forester and we'll donate 250 dollars to your choice of 5 charities.

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it gives us 5x the rewards on our internet, phone charges and cable, plus at office supply stores. rewards we put right back into our business. this is the only thing we've ever wanted to do and ink helps us do it. make your mark with ink from chase. good to have you back with us tonight. thanks for staying with "the ed show." this is big news for the automobile industry. the government is winding down the automobile rescue loan. that's right. we've talked about this for the past five years. now general motors is ready to stand on its own. the united states treasury announced today that it will sell its entire 32% stake in general motors. the stock will go up for sale over the next 12 to 15 months. the united states government is expected to lose $12 billion in

the deal. now it's a lot of money, isn't it, for our taxpayers? but the investment preserved the automobile industry. put a price tag on that. despite all the republican naysayers, the automobile rescue saved over a million jobs. the industry also added 250,000 new jobs since 2009. the auto rescue did exactly what it was designed to do. >> we didn't make this investment to make a profit. we made it to save the american auto industry, which was on the verge of a collapse and would have resulted in a million jobs being lost. and the investments were incredibly successful in that regard. >> we recognize that there are costs to this investment. but, you know, let's remember. the costs are far less than the costs had we not acted? >> and that is the key. republicans aren't talking about the recovery of the automobile industry. instead, they're whining that the government didn't make enough money on the deal. the same republicans have been attacking the deal for the last five years. >> we all know gm is now

government motors because it's owned by the american people. it's been nationalized. there is no private corporation the way we used to think of gm. now the main stockholders is the american government. >> we've wasted a lot of money. we've done that in other areas in the federal government. it's one of the many more indictments against this president and his administration and why we need to move forward. >> violation of 200 years of bankruptcy law by barack obama to pay off the uaw at the expense of every bondholder. >> you can't go around picking winners and losers. >> the only people that were truly rescued were the unions. >> and whenever big government and big business and for that matter big labor get in bed together, you better believe that taxpayers and consumers are both going to you know what in a very unpleasant way. >> and i am joined tonight by david cay johnston, pulitzer prize winning journalist and authority of "the fine print." so the bottom line is the united states government invested $49.5 billion in general motors. the united states treasury predicts that it will get back $28.7 billion from general motors. david, is this a losing proposition for taxpayers? >> oh, no, not at all.

think of the costs if we had allowed general motors to fail, we would have lost literally a million jobs. we would have huge costs for disability, for welfare, for probably crime, with young people who can't find any kind of work. enormous costs. so this was a very cheap bargain. and don't forget, we gave $13 billion to bail out an aig/goldman sachs deal to goldman sachs. and in my book, the fine print, i tell about another $5 billion gift we made to goldman sachs that nobody else has reported on. >> okay. now gm stock had a pretty good day on wall street today. general motors closed at $27.18 per share. it gained $1.69 during the trading after the government's announcement. so and here is a look at general

motors earnings over the past two years. david, is general motors recovering? >> oh, absolutely. general motors in 2008 was out of cash. they've now got $32 billion of cash. so they're doing very well. and going forward, they should do well. >> which is going to help them invest in an infrastructure and development of better product. >> creating more jobs. >> of course, product is not their problem. worldwide, they have really taken some strides. now, let's talk about aig, which you mentioned. the government says that it made $22.7 billion on the aig bailout. and that was a bailout. some republicans say the unions kept us from making money on gm as well. is that a fair comparison? >> no, not at all. in part, look at the size of the risk we took for aig versus the return we got. we got a return.

but commensurate with the risk it wasn't close. taking away their organizing power in michigan. so to argue that this was some giveaway and sop to the unions is absurd. >> the treasury posts this t.a.r.p. tracker on its website, says it's recovered 89% of the money invested in the automobile industry, aig, and the banks. generally good news here? >> oh, yeah. we're getting out of this stuff, which we should be out of. what we need is to have a real discussion about do we get economic rules so to provide viable companies so this doesn't happen again. the problem isn't going to be gm. it's wall street. >> here is what is lost in the whole conversation here. what we went through in 2008 and early 2009, we hadn't seen that since the great depression. >> right. >> these are inordinary circumstances and inordinary measures to be taken by any government. would you agree? >> and a lot of it brought about by government policies that helped competitors of gm and made things more difficult for gm.

so it's not like the government comes with clean hands to this. >> all right, david cay johnston, great to have you with us tonight. coming up, president lincoln, he fought to preserve the union support. can lincoln inspire our divided senate? stay tuned. a great story coming up.

we all love hearing from our viewers on our twitter and facebook page. many of you are weighing in on some of the republican proposals to arm teachers in the classroom to protect our children across america from mass shootings. jeffrey tweets the gop wants to cut teachers pay and jobs yet wants to arm them in schools? insane. rick says people who want to arm teachers also think teachers are overpaid and incompetent. and david tweets republicans call teachers lazy, incompetent, and a drain on society with their retirement and unions. now they want to arm them? crazy.

really. keep your thoughts coming to us on our facebook and twitter page using the #edshow. still to come, "time" magazine names president obama their person of the year and shares some never before seen pictures from the first term in office. stay with us. we're right back. [ female announcer ] caroline penry began using olay total effects in 2001. and one wedding, 2 kids, 43 bottles of olay total effects and many birthdays later, still looks amazing. thanks to the trusted performance of olay.

♪ >> lincoln. >> you never know, this might be the ticket. abraham lincoln had a historic task of bringing a divided nation together. and i hope lincoln can do it again. really? you see, tonight a divided senate will come together for a screening of steven spielberg's film. spielberg a fabulous producer and director. senators and their spouses will be joined by spielberg, actor

daniel day lewis, screenwriter tony kushner and doris kerns goodwin. senate majority leader harry reid and mitch mcconnell wrote this. the film depicts the good which is attained when public servants put the betterment of the country ahead of short-term political interests. we believe that viewing this film would provide all senators with a positive opportunity to gather and reflect during the holiday season. the movie's themes should hit pretty close to home, don't you think, for senators still struggling to find common ground on the brink of this fiscal cliff we're talking about. bitter partisan divide, gridlock. the clock is ticking. but lincoln offers us a powerful message about democracy. the question is will the senate be moved by this movie? the way the rest of america has been moved by this production? will it shake their

sensibilities in the senate to compel them to compromise for the good of their constituents and the country? let's hope this movie night inspires the party of lincoln to quit voting against the interests of the american people. i hope it works. tonight in our survey, i asked you, will republicans block common sense gun laws? 95% of you say yes. 5% of you say no. that's a high number, i think. "time" magazine announces president obama as their person of the year. we'll talk to presidential historian doug brinkley about what it all means, next. have a good night. here you go. you, too.

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get your first full prescription free and save on refills at advaircopd.com. and i think if you just kind of stepped aside and mr. romney can take over, you could still use a plane. though maybe a smaller one. >> it turns out the invisible man clint eastwood spoke to at this year's rnc convention was given a major honor today. president barack obama was named "time" magazine's person of the year. "time" magazine's editor gave his reasons for the choice on the "today" show this morning. >> he won reelection despite a higher unemployment rate than anybody has had to face in 70 years. he is the first democrat to actually win two consecutive terms with over 50% of the vote.

that is something we haven't seen since franklin delano roosevelt. and he is basically the beneficiary and the author of a kind of new america, a new demographic, a new cultural america, that he is now the symbol of. >> this is the second time president obama was named person of the year. time wrote up a great piece on the president. but everyone is really talking about these pictures. time showcases a number of stung images taken by white house photographer peter souza. he captures behind-the-scenes pictures like this one, so unbelievable. this is the president writing the newtown speech he gave on sunday night. he worked on it during his daughter's sasha's ballet rehearsal. then there are the lighthearted moments in the white house. this photograph here, this picture shows the president of the united states pretending to be caught up in spider-man's web while being greeted by the son of a white house staffer. that's being a dad right there. and this one shows some family time. president obama is seen here playing in the snow with his daughters at the white house. they need to put more snow on him, don't you think?

anyway, times article paints a very clear picture of the president, who works awfully hard for this country, but is also revealing a very personal side of the president, everyone should say. i'm joined tonight by doug brinkley, presidential historian, author, and professor of history at rice university. every president, you know, has the family, has those special moments. but it just seems that it is so much more intense with this president. what is your response to what you see? >> well, there is no question. remember, just a decade ago, people were debating what is family values. and republicans were claiming that term. well barack obama exudes family values. he makes us all look ashamed as how he takes care of his mother-in-law also. but in this photographer, peter souza is one of the great ones. he is like david kennerly who was with gerald ford, bob

mcneeley with clinton. these are some of the iconic images of our time. >> these obviously stay with the illustration of the legacy in a sense, doesn't it? >> big time. some day there will be an obama presidential library, probably in chicago. and these photos will be all one of the key parts of the exhibit. i think it's been the story of white house photography has just improved. i mean, we talk about lincoln, matthew brady, and you remember a couple of photos of lincoln back there. with obama, it's becoming very kennedy-esque. jody kantor wrote a very good book about it. what is really going on in the white house has been kept quite private. i think these photos open it up in a new way. >> he has not been a president that has forged a lot of relationships with legislators. what about that? >> i think that's true. i think he is a very private person. i think we take him at his word. he has wanted to be a good dad first and foremost. i think it was the deal he made with michelle that he was going to do that. he doesn't spend a lot of that free time eating popcorn and watching movies that may be a negative on his part.

maybe he has needed to do a little more back slapping. jimmy carter didn't do a lot either. but i think these photographs in time are only going to make people like the president more. >> what about a "time's" explanation as to why they chose the president to be man of the year? finding and forging a new majority for turning weakness into opportunity and for seeking amid great adversity to create a more perfect union. that's a mouthful. what about that? >> i think we have lived in the age of franklin roosevelt to 1980. i think there was a revolution. obama, we didn't know what obama '08 had meant because the economy had tanked and the war. now with this election in 2012, it looks look barack obama, we're living now in the age of obama, which is a new kind of american open heartedness, the bringing in of latinos, guy marriage, marijuana even. and a lot of the progressive programs of the '60s he has been able to maintain. >> would you parallel him to abraham lincoln? that. >> is the president.